ROSES

We are looking forward to a full schedule for 2018 as we learn TIPS, TRICKS & HACKS FOR GROWING ROSES.

Our group is made up of people of all ages and stages of growing roses. Some have a few roses and some have hundreds. Some are just getting started and some have been growing roses for 40 years or more. A perfect place to learn and grow. And, you’ll meet the best people!

We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 in the evening at the Sullivan Munce Cultural Center in charming downtown Zionsville! That is except for special events and they are usually on the weekend. (Schedule below.) Our meetings are open to the public, so invite a friend to join you!

Our time together includes friends, fun, food and loads of ROSE TALK! Door Prizes Too!

2018 PROGRAMS . . .

TUES, MARCH 13, 6:30 pmGETTING OUR GARDEN OFF TO A GOOD START
Location: Sullivan Munce / Zionsville
Special Guest: Diane Sommers, ARS District 5 Director, Master Rosarian and VP Candidate for ARS
Program: Let’s Grow Together
Diane will share her tips for getting our gardens off to a good start and her vision for the American Rose Society. For more about Diane, read on here.

TUES, APRIL 10, 6:30 pm: SOIL HEALTH
Location: Sullivan Munce / ZionsvilleSpeaker: Kevin Allison, Marion County Soil Health Specialist
Kevin Allison, Marion County SWCD Soil Health Specialist, will lead a discussion on using the principles of soil health to organically improve soil: Minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing diversity, keeping the soil covered, and providing a continuous living root.
Kevin will explore how amendments, diverse mulching and cover crops can be integrated into flower production and preparing new beds.
**Q & A with Kevin

SAT, MAY 26, 9 – 3: ROSEFEST: ROSES OLD AND NEW
Hamilton Co. 4-H Fairgrounds, NoblesvilleFocus on Early Bloomers: Old Garden Roses, Rugosas, as well as the new modern roses etc.Speaker: Mike Shoup / Author and Owner Antique Rose Emporium
In addition: There will be Garden Tour, Rose Show, Educational Displays, Workshops, Roses and Rose Products for sale
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBIC!

THURS – SAT, JUNE 7 – 9
STATE MASTER GARDENER CONFERENCE
4-H Fairground in Danville, IN
Carol Tumbas, rose expert and former President of Indianapolis Rose Society, will give a program entitled The Incredible Edible Rose
**The Indianapolis Rose Society will have an information booth and will sell roses.

TUES, AUGUST 14, 6:30 pm: CLIMBING ROSES
Location: Sullivan Munce / Zionsville
Linda Kimmel, immediate past president of the Indianapolis Rose Society, will share with us the charm and grace of climbing roses—which ones to grow and how to care for them!
**Round Table Discussion: Overwintering roses in pots
**Panel: John Hefner, Linda Kimmel, Teresa Byington

SAT, SEPT 8: DISTRICT MEETING & ROSE SHOW
Hosted by Indianapolis Rose Society
Boone Co. 4-H Fairgrounds
KEYNOTE: Bob Martin, American Rose Society Vice President
**Details are coming together and will be available soon.

OCTOBER TBD: FALL GARDEN PARTY
Teresa Downham’s garden
Costume party (dress as a rose name) and Chili Cookoff.

SAT, DEC 1, 6 pm: HOLIDAY PARTY / AWARDS BANQUET
Join us for a holiday party in the Hefners’ holiday wonderland.
We will also give out 2018 awards and install our 2019 board.
A ‘not to miss’ event — Food, Fun, Outstanding Decor, Awards!
**RSVP to John and Donna at jdhefner63@gmail.com
**More details to come.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! There is so much to learn and do and it will be more fun if you are there. We are open to the public so invite a friend!

And, please share this post on your social media accounts or email to a friend.

Like this:

This week as I was putting the finishing touches on some upcoming presentations for local garden clubs, I found myself going back and forth through all my pictures to find just the right ones to use. Currently I have over 13,000 on my iPhone! 😳 Going through pictures is not an easy task but very rewarding!

I saw so many garden pictures that I fell in love with all over again and thought you might like to take a look back with me. Maybe remembering warmer days will make these bitter cold days we are having a little warmer too!

A rainy May gave way to some beautiful, if soggy, blooms of Francis E. Lester Rose. I love how when you look through this arbor you see the open gate across the garden. Sometimes it just works and this time it did.

The reblooming Bloomerang Lilac had a stellar spring and as advertised, bloomed off and on throughout the season. A reblooming lilac has been something gardeners dreamed off. Thanks Proven Winners!

Then there was rose pruning season. Time to get started in the garden. GRATEFUL for a large cart that hooks up to the tractor.

Saying goodbye to the boots. #jobwelldone

I had forgotten about the sweet little cosmos germinating! FAV!

Then there was the Mar/Apr American Rose Magazine that featured my garden–A Gardener and Her Tidy Mess. THANK YOU ARS!

Way to go wind, rugosas and birds — creating a special moment in the garden!

A bokay to share. #myfavforsure

Yes, I loved looking back, but am totally excited that spring will be here in 59 days. I just bet you are excited about that too! If you had to choose one favorite garden memory of 2017, what would it be? I’d love to hear!

Like this:

Someone had to be first and in the case of hybrid teas, it was La France. When you hear the terms Old Garden Roses and Modern Roses do you ever wonder how to know which is which? Old Garden Roses are roses bred before 1867 …. when the first Hybrid Tea was named and that first Hybrid Tea — La France. This pretty, fragrant rose was found in France by the Rosarian, Andre’ Guillot. Parents of this rose are said to be Hybrid Perpetual “Madame Victor Verdier” and tea rose “Madame Bravy” —giving us a new classification of roses—Hybrid Teas! (Note: Her parentage is sometimes debated!😉)

While most old garden roses are one time bloomers, this new hybrid gave us blooms throughout the growing season. Hybrid Teas are said to be the most popular class of roses, much of that popularity comes from their being commonly used as “florist” roses with their long stems and high centers.

La France is a large shrub that would NOT be considered disease resistant–black spot and other fungal disease find her very attractive! She grows best in warmer climates. As a hybrid tea she has been surpassed in beauty, form and is no longer welcome in many gardens, however, few can surpass her in fragrance! As the first, she has historical significance, making her a sentimental favorite with a warm place in my heart. Yes, she blazed the trail that led us to the amazing repeat bloomers we have now.

LA FRANCE AND THE BILTMORE

The most beautiful bed of La France roses I have ever seen is in the Biltmore garden and what a perfect place for her. She is in the company of many other historical giants in the rose world like Blush Noisette. You cannot walk by La France without stopping to take in the damask fragrance and delicate features of this rose. The pictures show that this first hybrid tea does not have the growth habit of the more modern hybrid teas but a growth habit more like that of her historical parents with delicate stems that bow in the breeze — just adding to her charm.

La France is the beauty on the right.

LA FRANCE AND FRIENDS

My time at the Biltmore is filled with beautiful roses of course, but also rose friend reunions. Friends like Jim Wilson. Jim is a wealth of rose knowledge and in particular La France. In fact, he says the rose world is sometimes confused on which rose is La France (that parentage debate I mentioned!). At the end of this post is a video interview I did with Jim last year where he talks about this debate.

Fast forward to this year when Jim presented me with my very own La France! He grew a lovely plant for me to take home! This rose is over-wintering in my potting shed and has already given me several blooms with that amazing damask fragrance it is known for.

La France blooming in the Potting Shed.

Fingers crossed that she can be happy all winter long in less than perfect conditions—dry, dim light. 😳 I am excited to see what she can do next year in a large pot in my garden. She’s a “diva” for sure and will require extra care but I’m up for it.